kscans

Chapter 123 - The Eastern Ten Seats

Lured by the familiar light of teleportation, I surrendered myself to the momentary sensation of floating I had grown so used to.

The roar and heat of the venue receded in an instant, and after another familiar sensation of the surrounding air changing all at once—I opened my eyes to find myself in an unfamiliar place.

The first thing that caught my eye was a large round table with ten seats. They boldly occupied the spacious room, their designs conspicuously luxurious and unified in a black-and-white color scheme.

The atmosphere suggested it was a castle—likely inside Ruvalest, the underground castle. The style of the decorations and furnishings was similar.

"—You okay, kid?"

Then, Goldow, who had teleported with me, peered at me from the side with his hands on his hips as I slowly took in my surroundings.

...Man, he's huge, now that I think about it. He looks like he's over two meters tall.

"Ah, uh... sorry, you really saved me—"

"Whoa, stop right there."

As I started to thank him, frustrated by my still-sluggish thoughts, he held up a palm as big as my head to stop me.

"We Rankers, we treat each other as equals, regardless of rank. No need for formalities, talk to me casually."

Eh...? I feel a bit hesitant to drop the honorifics with someone who so clearly gives off an older vibe—but man, he's really staring at me. Doesn't look like I have a choice, does it...?

"Uh... You saved me, thanks. ...Is this okay?"

"Perfectly fine. I don't dislike people who get it."

When I adjusted my tone, succumbing to the pressure, he clapped me on the shoulder good-naturedly.

"You can call me whatever you like, too. Goldow, Old Man, Gossan."

"...Then I'll go with Gossan."

"Kakka! Fine by me. You're the second one to choose a nickname without hesitation, after Hinayo."

I thought maybe being straightforward was preferred, and judging by his cheerful laughter, it seems I was right—Okay, I'll go with the 'relative's uncle' level of familiarity.

Not that I have any uncles I'm close to.

"Now then—welcome, new Ninth. To the 'Round Table' of our Istia Ten Seats."

"Round Table, huh... pretty on the nose."

"Well, I mean... what else would you call it?"

Judging by the way Goldow stroked his beard, this room wasn't set up by the players, but was something that had always been here.

"I see... so, why was I brought here?"

Honestly, this is all a bit much, can I sit down? Or rather, more importantly—

"And sorry, but I'm a little worried about my partner, so I'd like to go check on her."

The expression on Sora's face right before we teleported wouldn't leave my mind.

I didn't sense anything too serious, but I couldn't help but wonder why she was making a face like that at that particular moment...

So I asked if I could go meet up with her, and Goldow laughed, saying, "Don't you worry about a thing."

"Your partner's with Rotta right now, on standby. I'll let you see her as soon as the introductions are over, so rest easy."

"Oh...—Introductions?"

I appreciate the thought, but... hey, what's with that wicked look on your face? I'm starting to get it now, you're quite the prankster—

"—BOOM!!"

"—boom."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

"Whoa-hey!!?"

It was the moment after I sensed something ominous in Gossan's expression.

Two voices, one high-tension and one low-tension, suddenly echoed through the room.

And then, a storm of explosions and flames filled the entire Round Table room.

Swallowed by the raging fire along with Gossan standing next to me, I let out a bewildered cry and nearly fell on my butt—but then I noticed the strangeness of the crimson flames, which gave off no heat despite touching me.

"—...Is this... an illusion...?"

I muttered dazedly at the true nature of the fire, which presented a visual threat without burning anything.

Gossan, who seemed to be enjoying my reaction, laughed cheerfully beside me—and before I knew it, two new figures had appeared in the room.

One on the left and one on the right, on either side of the Round Table. They were girls, smaller than Sora, with a slightly childish appearance.

Both wore matching uniform-like shirt and skirt outfits, with mage-like robes over them, giving them a strangely fitting style.

Left was red, right was blue.

The design of their outfits was the same, but the colors were different, and the way they wore their different-length socks was a mirror image.

Their light beige hair was also different—the red one had mid-length hair, while the blue one had long hair—but their two cute, well-featured faces were the same, though their expressions differed.

"Hey, hey, hello there, Mr. [Acrobat]!"

The high-tension voice on the red left side exclaimed.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Ninth."

The low-tension voice on the blue right side murmured.

"Istia's Fourth Seat! [Left Wing] Mi-na!"

The red one struck a dramatic, mysterious pose.

"Istia's Fifth Seat, [Right Wing] Ri-na."

The blue one stood there blankly.

—And then, as the illusory explosion in the room faded, the red one trotted over to the blue one who was standing stock-still, took her hand, and forced her into a pose.

Hey, she clearly doesn't like that, you should stop.

"Istia's Fifth Seat! [Right Wing] Ri-na!"

You're even making her redo her line? Their voices are identical.

"—Together, we're the Eastern Wings! Called upon, we appear right here!!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

"..."

Swallowed by the explosion once again, this time I had no reaction.

I averted my gaze from the red one, whose eyes were sparkling with a triumphant expression, and the blue one, who was narrowing her eyes in extreme annoyance—

"Can I go home?"

And my reaction seemed to be the final part of the performance that the golden old man enjoyed. As he bent over laughing at whatever his shallow funny bone found amusing—ah, yeah. I knew it.

Once I was prepared, it was easy to sense the teleportation... hm, eh? Wait, this is close—

"—Heeey. N i c e t o m e e t y o u."

"Hyuh...!?"

Right behind me, practically stuck to my back, at almost zero distance.

At the same time as a bewitching voice whispered in my ear, a slender arm wrapped in a long white lace glove slithered around my neck.

"Wh-what the—!?"

"Ufufu... you have a cuter reaction than I expected, Mr. [Acrobat]?"

As if enjoying my flustered reaction, a woman's voice caressed my neck—Hey, what are you doing!? Please stop stroking my chest with those weird hands!!

Just as I was about to activate Ignition for a super-speed escape, the slender arm released me with a light chuckle.

I took two or three steps back, on high alert, and turned around—to see a beautiful woman in a gardenia-colored formal dress.

Her lustrous black hair was gathered in a chignon, leaving a single strand to frame her cheek. And her gentle hazel eyes held the allure of a mature woman.

She was a bit tall for a woman, her eyes slightly above mine. Her well-proportioned figure was impressive, and the slightly revealing design of her dress made it a bit hard to know where to look.

—What stood out most was the holster at her waist.

It was so out of place with her glamorous dress that it somehow looked good. In its rugged leather, a large crimson pistol was holstered on each side.

"Sorry to surprise you? —I am Hinayo, Sixth Seat, [Scorching Gaze]. A pleasure to meet you."

The woman—Hinayo—curtsied with perfect form, pinching her skirt, and then smiled and gave me a wink.

"—I don't think my introduction is necessary, but..."

"Bih... you scared me."

From my side, where I was momentarily captivated by her graceful gesture—a voice I had heard so much of just moments ago spoke up.

Startled, I turned to see, just as I expected, the young man in formal samurai attire with whom I had just had a fierce battle.

Leaning against the back of a tall chair, he had a refreshing smile that was a world away from the viciousness he had shown on stage.

"Once again—Irori, Seventh Seat, [Sword Protector]. I welcome you, from the bottom of my heart."

With a brisk greeting, he held out his right hand.

Honestly, there were a lot of things I wanted to say to this guy...

"..."

But being met with such a cool and refreshing response, I couldn't bring myself to say anything, as it would just make me look like I was picking a fight.

I shook his hand with a rather conflicted expression on my face—and he, probably understanding what was on my mind, gave me an indescribable smile before letting go of my hand.

And then, the next person teleported in.

"—You're the [Acrobat]."

The man who appeared before me got straight to the point.

"Haru... yeah. N-nice to meet you."

Remembering Gossan's words about Rankers being equals, I adjusted my tone... and held out my right hand in response to the gunmetal-gray eyes staring straight at me.

...Ten seconds. The man stared at me without a word, and just as I was about to look away, unable to bear his gaze any longer.

"—I am Genkotsu, Eighth Seat, [Twin Fists]. A pleasure to meet you, Haru."

The man—Genkotsu—nodded, took my hand with a firm grip, and shook it vigorously... Yeah, he doesn't seem like a bad guy.

Unlike the others so far, who all had a certain quirkiness about them, his avatar was quite simple.

Short, cropped white hair, a medium build with a solid frame. Aside from the black lines on the collar and cuffs, his attire was no different from a real-life karate uniform, and there were no weapons in sight.

His overall impression was that of a "strict person"—but...

"Let's have a match sometime, if we get the chance. I'm looking forward to it."

Seeing him smile awkwardly, yeah.

He's definitely not a bad person.

"—So, I guess it's my turn."

"Huh...?"

A slightly high-pitched boy's voice reached my ears.

Honestly, this was the most surprising part so far. Why? —Because he had been in my line of sight the entire time, and I hadn't noticed him until this very moment.

His hair was almost the same color as my own ash-black hair, which I had recently changed at Nia's suggestion. It was tied in a single ponytail at the nape of his neck and reached his back, but it suited his androgynous features well.

His eyes were the same color as his hair, slightly cat-like. I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to describe a boy this way, but he gave off a generally cat-like impression.

His attire was also all black. Similar to me, he wore black top and bottom underwear... wait, actually, we look pretty similar???

The design was completely different, but in terms of clothing shape, it was very close to my [El-Gran Series].

A short jacket with a large hood, and slightly loose-fitting pants. Hmm, not exactly matching, but... a slight sense of kinship.

Like Genkotsu, he had no weapons in sight. Was he not using any, or were they just put away for now?

"It's embarrassing, so no appeal time. I'm Tetra, Tenth Seat, [Undying]... or I was, now I'm Ninth. Nice to meet you, senpai."

Wait, why senpai?

"Shouldn't I be the one calling you senpai...?"

"I'm definitely younger than you. I don't want to act all high and mighty with someone older than me."

"And it's easier to say," the boy—Tetra—added casually, propping his cheek on his hand from his seat, where he had been sitting all along.

"Hah..."

Well... it's not like I should be nitpicking every little thing, so I'll just let it slide...

In any case, with this, all the Title Holders of Istia, excluding the two retired and secluded top members, were gathered.

What can I say... it's a magnificent sight.

They all have this incredible aura... and though they're all different, their confident demeanor makes you feel the difference between them and everyone else.

And then there's me, the representative of the common folk, a huge anomaly mixed in with them.

Um, can I really go home now?

No? I see...